NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Indiana of last decade

4. Jaden Ivey – Purdue

He may have grown up in Notre Dame’s shadow, but this 6’4 guard from South Bend found his way downstate to Matt Painter and Purdue. Ivey was a top 100 prospect in 2020 who became an important part of Purdue’s backcourt, spending two years starring for the Boilermakers. After a very solid freshman year, Ivey really broke out as a sophomore.

He averaged 17.3 points per game during that sophomore season after eclipsing 11 a game as a freshman, partially as a starter. He had a season-high 26 points in the Boilermakers’ NCAA Tournament loss to North Texas as a freshman before becoming a more important offensive weapon the following year. He helped lead the Boilermakers to the Sweet Sixteen this past season, including a couple of nice performances in the opening weekend.

Ivey was a Second Team All-American for that breakout campaign, a season that also saw him named to the All-Big Ten First Team. He emerged as a talented figure as a freshman but really came into his own for these Boilermakers, ranking among the league leaders in a whole host of statistics and other categories. Greatly raising his stock, Ivey departed for the NBA and was taken with the 5th pick by the Detroit Pistons, ready to begin his professional career just a few months from now.